China to have most robots in world by 2017

By Georgina Prodhan FRANKFURT (Reuters) - China will have more robots operating in its production plants by 2017 than any other country as it cranks up automation of its car and electronics factories, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) said on Thursday. China has just 30 robots per 10,000 workers employed in manufacturing industries, compared with 437 in South Korea, 323 in Japan, 282 in Germany and 152 in the United States. "Companies are forced to invest ever more in robots to